Shadows of Ghosts
by X23 Maximoff
Summary: Pietro could of sworn he died. But instead he wakes up to a furry blue doctor healing his wounds. Then there's his terrifying assistant, who decides to tag along back to the Avengers complex with him. Now that Ultron has been defeated, the Avengers and their new friends must look to for new sources of evil to vanquish. Namely, Hydra. Eventual X23/Quicksilver, minor X-Men crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Hello all! So this is my first time writing under the Avengers tag - get excited! I've spent a fair amount of time with the X-Men, but hey, sometimes you gotta try something new, right? Of course there's still going to be some X-Men in here because I can't help myself, but it will still be Avengers centric and centered around Pietro Maximoff as he appeared and was characterized in Age of Ultron. The character of Laura isn't an OC, but is an X-Men character. Okay, let's get started!

 **Chapter 1: Through the Fog**

* * *

He didn't know where he was. Was he even alive? Everything was dark around him - or, was it incredibly bright? His head was swimming, trying to figure out what was going on.

Something was missing. There was supposed to be someone with him. His sister? Yes, his sister. His sister was always connected to him, their minds always linked. Where was she? Was she okay? He couldn't feel her anymore. His mind suddenly felt oddly lonely.

He felt as if he was spinning. Was he spinning, or was the earth spinning? He didn't know. There was nothing for him to hold on to, nothing but the nothingness and the feeling of loneliness. But soon the nothingness faded into darkness, and he felt his consciousness slip. This must be death.

Beeping. There was an incessant beeping.

He didn't know where he was, but he could hear the beeping increase in tempo as he slowly ascended into consciousness. Slowly? He had never done anything slowly in his life. The beeping increased further, and he realized it was matching his heart rate.

He finally opened his eyes, finding himself in a hospital bed and a dimmed room. How long had he been out? There were curtains around him, blocking his view. He shifted in the bed, pain blooming through his entire body. With a jolt, his memories came back to him. He remembered the plane, Hawkeye, the bullets…

Didn't he _die?_

His heart rate picked up a little more, and with a groan he reached across his body and pulled the monitor from his finger. There was a PICC line inserted next to his clavicle. As his mind cleared, he assessed it, flashbacks of Strucker's experiments coming back to him. He closed it off before disconnecting it from the IVs. He didn't want to remove it from his neck - he had seen what happened when people did that. The monitor went crazy, but he was able to sit up and press the silent button at a bit of a better pace. A twelve lead ECG was stuck to him as well; he pulled all the attachments off as quickly as he could. He tried to reach out to Wanda with their mind link, but he couldn't feel her. There was nothing except his own thoughts bouncing back to him. He was also displeased to find out that he couldn't activate his super speed. He supposed he would have to escape the old fashioned way.

Pietro peeked out of the curtains to find an empty hospital wing. It seemed as if he was the only patient. The clock on the wall read 3:23, making him assume that it was past three in the morning. He clutched the back of his gown together, not enjoying the breezy feeling on his backside. He opened the door quietly, sticking his head out and quickly scanning the area. A blue, furry man in a lab coat was typing away at a computer, his back to Pietro. He quietly (and quickly as possible) walked down the hallway, taking the first turn he came to and passing through the door there. He found himself in a locker room of sorts, and soon found a pair of sweat pants and a jacket in one of the cabinets. He didn't have shoes, but that would have to wait.

He passed through the locker room, pushing through the door on the other side. He was now in a dark, carpeted hallway. It looked like a house. Who had a hospital wing in their house?

Further exploration found that not only was he in a house, he was in a massive house. A massive _mansion_ , with many hallways for him to get lost in. Without his super speed, he was left to normal human devices. He could feel his body pulling him down - it wasn't happy that he had gotten up. His cells were trying very hard to heal, but they couldn't keep up. He was getting tired, sloppy. He had to escape _now._

Someone threw him against the wall. Literally grabbed him by the back of his sweatshirt and pinned him. He made a move to push the person - woman - away, but two very sharp looking metal claws were poised at his neck. He stopped moving, his heart racing. His super speed was still down. He was helpless.

"Who are you?" the woman asked roughly, her green eyes staring into him intensely. His breath caught in his throat, his head swimming from the sudden movement. He felt feverish, his blood boiling in his veins and his vision going blurry. Getting up may have been a bigger mistake than he thought.

" _Who. Are. You?"_ she asked again. Pietro opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Laura!" a terse, male voice echoed. The blue man was here. "Let go of my patient, please."

"Sorry Doc." she said, immediately stepping back and letting go of him.

Unfortunately, Pietro quickly found out that she was the only thing holding him up as he limply crumpled to the ground. The blue man moved toward him, saying something. He sounded as if he were underwater. Pietro looked down, seeing red soaking through the sweatshirt. He figured it was from his wounds reopening.

And then he blacked out.

He once again woke up to the beeping. He _hated_ the sound of that beeping. He also found himself to be exceedingly cold. He opened his eyes to find that it was much brighter in the hospital wing this time - it must be during the day. Though which day it was, he had no idea. He looked down, and was embarrassed to find his body bare. His sheet had been piled between his legs, with the top of it covering his more private areas. For the first time, he saw the extent of his injuries; he didn't remember getting shot that many times.

"I'm going to need you to calm down." came a voice. He looked up to see the woman from earlier - Laura. Her long, dark hair was tied back, and her green eyes were on his wounds rather than him. "The higher your heart rate goes, the more blood you lose. Lose too much and you die." she said everything very matter-of-factly, which only served to make him more nervous.

"Where am I? Where is my sister?" he asked, going to sit up. She shoved him back down with a strength that he did not expect.

" _Calm down."_ she said in perfect Russian. Pietro hesitated.

" _I am not Russian."_ he replied, also in Russian. He noticed that she was cleaning his wounds, really digging in with long cotton swabs.

" _But you speak Russian._ " she pointed out.

" _Yes._ " he replied.

"What are you then?" she asked, switching back to English.

"Sokovian." he answered slowly. His accent sounded thick, even to his own ears. She nodded, as if that were her next guess.

"You are in the Xavier Institute. You were brought here after the event with Ultron nine days ago. I don't know where your sister is, but I assume the Professor is trying to contact her." she said.

"And who are you?" he questioned.

"My name is Laura. I'm not your actual nurse, but Jean is gone on a diplomatic mission and the girl who normally covers for her couldn't deal with the extent of your wounds. Seeing bone bothers some people."

"And you are okay with it?"

"I've seen a lot of blood in my day."

"That's terrifying."

"So I've been told."

He was frustrated. This woman was giving him answers, yes, but basic ones. He wanted to know _what_ the Xavier Institute was, _where_ it was, and where _Wanda_ was. Instead he got this woman with a cold bedside manner that was digging into his wounds as if it were an every day occurrence to be laying antibiotic ointment on muscles and bones (at least she had been kind enough to administer a local anesthetic). Not to mention he was essentially naked in front of her.

"I know I'm not helpful. I was hoping Doc would be here when you woke up. Give me five minutes to finish up and he can give you some real answers."

"Why are you helping me?" he asked. Ever since their parents died, no one had helped Wanda and Pietro. He didn't want to trust these people, but he had no choice for the time being.

"I told you, no one else could handle how bad your wounds are." she said shortly, pulling the sheet over his legs and up over his abdomen. "But I will say, we have more in common than I thought."

"What?" he asked. She snapped her gloves off, touching the part of his forearm that had been tattooed with a number upon his and Wanda's arrival at Strucker's base.

"Being an experiment." she said, grabbing his chart from the foot of his bed. Before he could say anything in return, she turned sharply, turning his lights off and walking away. She had given him answers, but he felt as if he had nothing but more questions.

Pietro went to sit up, but once again was taken aback by the pain going through him. He looked to his right - the PICC line was still inserted. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. These people had not harmed him (yet), and even if they planned to, at least they were tending to his wounds first. He heard footsteps coming through the hospital wing, and soon the furry blue man stood in front of him. Even wearing a lab coat and glasses, he was still terrifying. He was much bigger than anticipated, looking more like a beast than a human. He heard his heart rate spike with apprehension, but he willed it back down. The man gave him a hesitant smile.

"Hello there, my name is Dr. Hank McCoy." he said in a gentle manner. Pietro felt a little guilty; obviously this man was used to people being afraid of him at first sight. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Pietro. Pietro Maximoff." he said. Hank nodded.

"Good, your orientation is returning. I'm sure you have a lot of questions about the current state of affairs." Hank continued, pulling a chart out of his lab coat and setting it on the bed.

"Where is my sister?" Pietro asked, his priorities shifting.

"Your sister is at the Avengers complex. She is alive and well. However, she does not know about you just yet."

"Why not?" he asked, angry. She was his twin, his other half - she must have been worried sick not knowing where he was. Unless… "She doesn't know I'm alive?"

"Not yet. We weren't sure if you were going to make it." Dr. McCoy explained. Pietro let out a loud swear in his native tongue.

"She must know! She must feel it." he said, holding his hand to his heart. His movements were slow, and felt unnatural. Dr. McCoy let out a sigh.

"A lot has changed since Ultron." he said softly.

"Enlighten me then." Pietro spat out. He was grateful for these people's help, but he was concerned for his sister. How could they not let her know he was fighting for his life? She would have been there for him. She could have _helped_.

"Your sister's powers aren't fully under control. If she had to watch you die again…to bring her with you, under this high stress situation, could have ended with devastation. For everyone. It was what was best at the time." Hank said.

"You do not know what's best for us." Pietro retorted.

"Perhaps not. But I must protect my people as well." Hank continued, as if Pietro wasn't acting like a petulant child. "Agent Fury contacted me after your retreat from Sokovia. They have advanced technology, yes, but not experience with what they call 'enhanced beings'. People such as yourself, or your sister, or Captain Rogers."

"Like the woman cleaning my wounds." Pietro added. His anger was fading, and his curiosity was taking over.

"Yes, like Laura. In fact, this is a sanctuary for those born with enhancements. They have not made it onto the media's radar yet - thanks to the Avengers - but they will. So this safe house was built. Obviously I am one such enhanced, and have spent my life developing medical techniques to cater to them. The experiments that were performed on you and your sister altered your DNA, putting this more under my expertise rather than Dr. Cho's."

"And you just take in charity cases when SHIELD calls?" he asked. Dr. McCoy shrugged.

"It give me an opportunity to help someone in need. Since the full manifestation of my enhancements, I have been unable to classically practice medicine. My patients now only come with very special referrals." he explained. Pietro nodded, then shook his head. They were getting off topic.

"When can I leave? When can I see my sister?" he asked. Hank nodded, pulling over a chair and sitting down before pulling over the chart he had put down earlier. He flipped through a few pages, adjusting his glasses so he could read.

"'Patient wounds mostly contain red granulation tissue, with no signs of necrosis or infection. Patient demonstrates increased rate of healing with shallow, superficial wounds, but increased regeneration has yet to be shown in deeper wounds healing by secondary intent. These wounds are currently healing at a rate normal to unenhanced humans, though are expected to improve soon.'" Dr. McCoy read. "Let's see here…core temperature and heart rate steadily increasing, breathing rate normalizing, ECG readings normalizing…"

"Who wrote that? What does it mean?" Pietro interrupted.

"Laura wrote it. It means that right now your wounds are healing, but your powers have yet to reactivate. Once they do and we see that the wounds are closing normally, then Agent Fury will be contacted and you will return to the Avengers and your sister." Hank said.

"Why can't I feel my sister anymore? In my mind?" Pietro asked. This was really his main concern. They had always been close, but after Strucker's experiments, they had been literally connected at the mind thanks to Wanda's powers. His head felt empty now, echoing with only his own thoughts. Hank flipped a few more pages in the chart.

"'Mr. Maximoff shows signs of a telepathic link with another enhanced. However the ties have been severed…' The note goes on to specify that you may experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder."

"You sure know how to cheer someone up." Pietro deadpanned. He suddenly felt exhausted. He had forgotten what it was like, healing without his powers. He recalled a time when he was eight, and broke his arm falling from a tree. Even though this pain was worse now, the exhaustion was the same.

"For now, you must rest. If you have any more questions, let me know." he said, pointing to the red call button on his bed. With one last nod, the doctor got up, turning to leave.

"Hey Doctor?" Pietro asked. Hank stopped, turning back to him.

"Yes?" he said.

"Thank you." he finished, giving a small smile. Hank returned the smile, showing his sharp teeth.

"Not a problem. Rest now." he said, turning and leaving. Pietro's mind was still buzzing with questions, each passing too fast to hold on to. He took that as a good sign - his mind was always running ever since the experiments started. But he forced them to quiet down, focusing on a lullaby his mother used to sing and willing himself to sleep.

He couldn't remember the last time he dreamed. He knew it was before the experiments started, but couldn't pinpoint it exactly. He still wasn't able to dream - fully dream - at this moment, but he was beginning to. Pictures flashed through his mind, almost too quickly to comprehend. He saw the Avengers, Sokovia, Ultron. He saw Strucker, his sister, and a pair of deadly green eyes.

He was pulled from the dream (if it could even be called that) by intense pain close to his right shoulder. His vision was blurry when his eyes snapped open, but he could make out the form of someone standing over him. His hand shot out, grabbing onto their arm. His cells were buzzing - his super speed was returning. The figure froze.

"Let. Go." she said sternly. Pietro blinked a few times, Laura's face slowly coming into focus. He looked to his shoulder to find that the tape from his PICC line had been taken off, and she was in the process of removing the line. He relinquished his hold on her forearm, laying back and trying to relax.

"You could have woken me up first." he deadpanned. She shrugged.

"Thought you'd be a deeper sleeper." she replied, slowly pulling the line out. He could feel the sting as the line slid through the opening in his skin, but he showed no sign of pain. This wasn't the first time he'd experienced it, and probably not the last. Once the line was completely out, she laid it on a side table, covering the insertion site on his chest with the proper bandages. "It looks like your enhancements are returning, your wounds are showing signs of advanced healing." she said, taking out a measuring tape and measuring the line to ensure it was removed in its entirety.

"And what do you know of enhanced healing?" he asked. Now that his strength was returning, his snark was also coming back.

"Well I did regrow my own arm once." she said nonchalantly, snapping her gloves off and gathering all the supplies she had used. "Go back to sleep. Doc's gonna run a bunch of tests in the morning."

"Wait-" he tried to stop her as she walked out, but she didn't heed his call. He pushed himself out of the bed, following after her. "Would you stop?"

"What?" she asked, stopping and turning to face him. He didn't expect such an abrupt movement from her, and he suddenly found himself standing very close to her. He felt uncomfortable at the closeness, but she simply gazed at him with mild curiosity. He took a step back.

"Who are you?" he asked lamely. When Dr. McCoy had introduced himself, Pietro had not felt much nervousness. The man was big and intimidating, yes, but he had kind eyes. This woman's eyes weren't malicious, but they were guarded. In fact, she constantly seemed guarded.

"I already told you my name is Laura." she said with a confused tone, though she seemed uncomfortable saying it. He opened his mouth to ask another question (trying to pick one out of the hundreds flowing through his mind), but was interrupted by a stern voice.

"Mr. Maximoff! You should not be up right now." Dr. McCoy chastised, walking down the hall towards him. He turned to Laura, who held her hands up in a show of innocence.

"Sorry, Doctor." Pietro said, anxiety creeping into his heart. The back of his mind tickled with memories of other doctors who were not very forgiving if they were disobeyed.

"That's alright, son. Come now, you've got to rest up. That's the only way to get your powers going again." he said calmly, directing Pietro back to his bed. He turned to look back at Laura, but she was already gone.

"I do not understand her." he said, walking back to his bed and climbing in.

"Not many do." Dr. McCoy replied, pulling Pietro's gown down to inspect the PICC line site.

"She said she underwent experimentation too." he persisted as the doctor examined his bullet wounds. Besides his sister and Captain Rogers, he had never met anyone else who survived experimentation. "Did they cut her arm off? How did she heal it back?" A memory of his first moments at the Institute resurfaced. "Does she always carry knives?"

Dr. McCoy chuckled. "Yes, she always carries knives." he said, as if laughing at a private joke. "But I'm afraid if you want answers to your questions, they are best found at the source."

"She's kind of scary." Pietro said, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, she's not so bad once you get to know her." the doctor replied with a grin, checking the last of his wounds. "I'm sure you've faced worse."

Pietro immediately thought of Ultron, with his goal to extinguish the human race. "You are not incorrect." he said.

"Anyway, now is not the time. You really do need your rest - I'm hoping to move you out of the Med Bay tomorrow if you're feeling well enough." he said, pulling the covers over Pietro's legs.

"So soon?" Pietro asked, though he wasn't complaining.

"Considering the rate your wounds are healing now, I feel comfortable moving you to a real bed. Of course there will be a battery of tests to complete tomorrow before I can medically clear you to be discharged from the Med Bay. But I'm sure you'll do splendidly." Dr. McCoy explained.

"Ah yes, wouldn't want me to sue you for negligence." Pietro responded with a smirk.

"Exactly. Alright Mr. Maximoff, rest up." the doctor replied, giving the boy a smile before turning and leaving him alone.

Pietro still didn't completely trust these people - after all, he'd been screwed over too many times in his life to trust quickly. But he ran the scenario through his head; these people were in contact with SHIELD, or whatever SHIELD was calling itself nowadays. Pietro knew the name Dr. McCoy had said earlier: Nick Fury. There had been a file on him in HYDRA, how he was an officer of SHIELD. But he was not under HYDRA, he was under the actual SHIELD, or what SHIELD was supposed to be, as Captain Rogers had pointed out. All signs were showing that these people were genuinely trying to help him. But he was still left with so many questions. Had the Avengers been contacted yet? He assumed at least a day had passed since he woke up, which was what…nine days after Ultron, according to Laura? Panic grew in him. He couldn't remember the last time he was apart from his sister for so long. Getting this medical treatment was nice, but his sister…his sister was all he had left in this world, the only thing that had been constant since their parents died all those years ago. His sister had been with him through their foster care nightmare, through running away with the vagabonds, and through all the experiments with Strucker. Every difficult part of his life, Wanda had been there. And now she wasn't.

He tried to push down the panic, but his heart continued to race erratically. His powers certainly were returning now, the burning impatience rolling through him. He went to sit up, and his head rushed with the sudden change in position. His muscles felt as if they were on fire. He stood up, aiming to take a slow walk around the long room to try and quiet himself. He took one step, then found himself at the wall. The room felt sweltering, a bead of sweat dripping down his back. His powers were resurfacing, all right. And they were treating him exactly as they had the first time.

Pietro took a step towards the back of the room, and again found himself ten steps from his start point. His wounds screamed at him with all the volatile movement. The first time this had happened, he had spent three days running around a cell until finally he was too exhausted to stay conscious. He took a few more speed steps, smiling to himself. Good thing he had recently been gravely injured, as that seemed to bring on the fatigue quicker than before. The speed was pulsating through him now at a steady rhythm as opposed to the random bursts. Yes, he was definitely gaining control much faster this time around.

"Mr. Maximoff, are you alright?" came a voice. Dr. McCoy had returned. Pietro idly realized that he must be making a lot of noise, running around this room.

"Fine." he answered, trying to sound lighthearted as he once again surged his speed over a short distance.

"I can give you a sedative." the doctor said. He sounded as if he were speaking slower. Pietro's head was pounding, his muscles aching. The speed was quieting, his heart rate returning to a normal rhythm. Sure, he was also seeing dark spots, but that was all part of the process.

"Just need to run it out." he said, making a few more dashes. His coordination was starting to fail. Good. He was getting tired.

"I really must insist you stop." Dr. McCoy said, trying to keep up with the boy's location. Pietro bounced off a wall, losing his balance for a moment.

"Almost there." he said. The spots were multiplying, his limbs feeling like lead. With one last wave, he made a lap of the room, bouncing into the corner. His vision was dark and blurred, his body aching. His heart rate slowed to _his_ normal pace. A blue blur approached him - Dr. McCoy.

"All done?" he asked, sounding both perturbed and concerned.

"Uh huh." Pietro agreed, nodding his head. He felt drunk, and tired. His mind was swimming again, but pleasantly so.

"Let's get you back in bed then." was the doctor's response. Pietro tried to stand with him, but his legs would no longer hold him. Pain was painted all over his body, but he welcomed it. In spite of the discomfort, he was glad to see himself gain control. It felt like three minutes, or maybe three hours - but at least it was not three days.

"I'm getting better." he murmured as the doctor picked him up, carrying him to the hospital bed.

"Hopefully." the doctor replied. Pietro was sure he meant something about the running, but he felt fine. He felt _tired_. And that was a good feeling for someone in his position. "Please rest now." he said, tucking him in.

"You got it." he replied, his eyelids already drooping. He felt the monitors as the doctor placed them back on him, but he didn't mind them. Nothing could bother him at this point.

For now, it was time to sleep.

* * *

Whew! First chapter down!

If you don't mind, please take a moment to leave a comment and tell me what you think. If you're bored, you can check me out on tumblr under the username whindsor. Sometimes I post prompts or teasers. Mainly I just post things that I find funny, but whatever.

Thanks for reading!

-XM


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Thank you for all the awesome reviews, alerts, and faves! Sorry this chapter took so long to get out - I've been a little busy finishing grad school and getting married! Hope y'all like this new chapter!

 **Chapter 2: Bright Horizon**

* * *

It took one day longer than Dr. McCoy thought, but Pietro was soon well enough to be moved to a real room. His powers were still a little haywire, causing him to have random tremors and bursts of speed. But it seemed like every hour he was feeling a little better, a little more in control. The bullet wounds that peppered his body were closing - they were closing a little too slowly for his liking, but he forced himself to remember that they were healing much faster than a normal human's. In fact, a normal human probably would not have survived this. He definitely had a guardian angel looking out for him.

Unfortunately, the sand man was _not_ looking out for him. Since his enhancements were ramping up to heal his wounds, it was making it difficult for him to rest. He could get an hour or two here and there, but most of the time his body was buzzing with the powers flowing through him. Dr. McCoy chastised him each time he found him out of bed, but Pietro couldn't help it. He felt too energized, and had too many questions. He tried to find a phone to call the Avengers, but realized that even if he found one, he wouldn't know what number to call. Was Tony Stark listed in the white pages? Could he call collect to Steve Rogers?

The more the minutes passed, the more the thoughts raced through his head. The bright red numbers on the clock told him it was fifteen minutes to six - surely too early for anyone to be up and about. He snuck down to the kitchen, hoping to find something to cure his hunger. That was another side effect he had forgotten about from when his enhancements first took hold - the insatiable hunger.

Surprisingly, the lights in the kitchen and surrounding areas were all on. In the dining room, Pietro found piles of food laid out - cereal, muffins, biscuits, most anything he could want. His stomach growled loudly, while his eyes widened in joy.

"You look like you just found the promised land." a female voice startled him. He whirled around, spotting Laura in the kitchen.

"Now that there is a beautiful woman here too, it might as well be." he said with a smirk, trying to play up the charm. Now that his body had returned to a solid state of homeostasis, he could get back to his old "friendly" ways, as Wanda would say.

"Uh huh." she said, unimpressed. "If I were you, I'd grab what you want. The kids will be down here soon, and there may not be much left after they tear through it."

Pietro was curious about these "kids" to which she was referring, but decided to heed her advice before asking his questions. He grabbed a plate, loading it up with as much food as possible. He thought about sitting there in the dining room with all the chairs, but resolved to avoid the apparently imminent rush of people and joined Laura in the kitchen instead. He sat on a bar stool opposite the counter she was leaning up against, pouring herself a bowl Lucky Charms.

"I would not peg you for a kids' cereal kind of lady." he said, taking a huge bite of a cinnamon roll.

"We all have our problems." she responded, putting the box away. He noticed it had a large 'X' in black sharpie on it - must be to mark that it was hers.

"Fair enough." he said, taking another bite as she poured milk over her cereal. "Who are these kids you speak of?"

"The other enhanced. They have training at seven, so they come eat at six." she said, grabbing a spoon and digging into her cereal. Sure enough, they heard a group of people thundering down the stairs towards the kitchen area. A wave of teenagers spilled into the dining room, none of them noticing Pietro or Laura from where they were positioned.

"You don't eat with them?" he asked quietly, turning back to his companion. The kids were loud and obnoxious, yelling over each other in an effort to get food around.

"Meh, I don't really fit in with them." she said with a shrug, appearing to be nonchalant.

"What, you do not get along?" he asked, moving on to the bacon on his plate.

"Oh we get along fine. They're all just terrified of me." she said shortly, continuing to eat her cereal as if it were no big deal. Pietro wondered if they were rightfully terrified of her.

"We're one plate short!" one of the kids yelled from the other room.

"I'll get it, I'll get it." a girl said, walking into the kitchen. She was looking back at her friends, smiling. That is, until she turned and saw Laura and Pietro. Her smile immediately fell, her body suddenly tense. Her eyes glanced over Pietro and settled on Laura. Laura paused mid-chew of her cereal, her green eyes analyzing the girl. Pietro saw a flicker of some emotion flash through her - disappointment? sadness? - but he couldn't quite identify it before it passed.

"Morning." Laura said, resuming her chewing and looking down at her bowl. The mask was back on.

"Morning." the girl squeaked. Pietro could tell she was trying to act normally, but she was failing miserably. She moved quickly through the kitchen, going to the cupboard. "Just needed another plate."

"So I heard." Laura said. She didn't sound angry, just…tired. The girl didn't know how to respond, except by walking as fast as she could out of the kitchen. Pietro let out a snort.

"How many people do you have to kill to get that kind of reaction, eh?" he said with a smile.

"I'm up to two hundred and eighty-seven." she retorted, this time making Pietro hesitate.

"Well, we all have our problems." he said, going back to his food. Laura stared at him for a moment, and Pietro could almost swear that a corner of her mouth perked up in a smile. "The people who experimented on you, they made you do the killing?"

"Bold topic of conversation for six in the morning." Laura said, her tone mildly surprised. Pietro shrugged.

"You tell a man you share one of his worst experiences with him, he gets bold." he responded. He sadly noticed that his plate was quickly running out of food. He wondered if there would be any left once these kids were done.

"Yes, that was my purpose. The perfect soldier." she said, finishing her cereal and rinsing the bowl out.

"I've met someone else who was supposed to be that." Pietro commented, perking an eyebrow. Laura let out a dry laugh.

"Yea, well, Captain America has what some in the scientific community call a 'moral compass' which is not what my makers wanted." she quipped.

"Your…makers?" he wondered aloud. Gone now were his attempts at flirting with her, instead he was unashamedly curious about her.

"That's the plot twist." she said, as if she had been waiting for this moment the whole conversation. "I wasn't experimented _on_ , I _am_ an experiment."

"…What?" Pietro blurted. Ever since the whole ordeal started with Strucker, he met the weirdest people.

"I was created in a lab, carried in a human, had adamantium implanted into my skeleton along with some claws, and was raised to be a weapon." she explained shortly, idly pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"How did you _survive_?" he questioned. She reached across the table and grabbed his fork, casually stabbing herself in the hand.

"Fuck!" he yelled, pushing back from the counter. She pulled the fork out, and he watched as her skin neatly knit itself back together. A quick swipe with his napkin, and the blood was gone. "What are you doing? That was in my _mouth_ you could get an _infection_!"

"You just saw four holes in my hand disappear and you're really gonna worry about infection?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. He calmed back down.

"You make a good point." he conceded, though his heart beat was still erratic. Whatever he had been expecting, that was certainly _not it_. "I should be used to it, after all the things I saw with Strucker and Hydra."

"Hydra?" she asked, standing up straight.

"Mr. Maximoff!" they were interrupted. Pietro was saved from answering her by the sound of a very angry doctor. "What are you doing out of bed so early in the morning? What part of 'rest' don't you understand?"

Pietro looked to Laura, who was still looking at him as if he'd grown another head. "Well…I was hungry." he said with a shrug.

"Well get back in bed. An associate from the Avengers will be here to pick you up in a couple of hours. Though I know you feel fine now, traveling is always exhausting. So I must insist you return to bed until then."

"Okay, I'm sorry." Pietro said, actually feeling a bit sheepish. He turned to say something to Laura, but she was gone, her half-glass of orange juice still resting on the counter. He didn't have time to be confused, as Dr. McCoy was shooing him back to his room. He didn't leave him alone until he was back in his bed, even fully under the covers. Pietro thought that might have been a little overkill, but figured the good doctor only had the best intentions. He was surprised to find that he actually did feel a little tired, his body lulled into relaxation from the full plate of food. His thoughts were still flying, trying to figure out this place and these people. Oddly enough, this was his comfort zone. Between dying and getting disconnected from Wanda, it felt better to have his mind overflowing with thoughts - that way he wasn't deafened by the silence in his own head.

He wasn't quite sure when he dozed off - it seemed he was stuck in the half asleep, half awake stage for a long time. But he must have fallen asleep, because he was soon awoken by a furry blue paw gently shaking him awake. Pietro's heart spiked as it often did when Dr. McCoy was the first person he saw in the morning, but he did well to hide it. He had the feeling that no matter how long he spent with the kind man, his appearance would always catch him off guard for a split second.

"I'm sorry to startle you, son," the good doctor said. "but Agent Fury will be here soon. I'd like to change the dressings on your wounds once more before you go, if you don't mind."

"Yes, of course." Pietro said with a nod, his silver hair falling into his eyes. He angrily brushed it away, making a mental note to get it cut soon. He stood up, slipping on the shoes that had been provided for him and following the doctor back to the med bay. He stripped down to his underwear, Dr. McCoy pulling a curtain for modesty. The gauze covering his wounds was no longer stained red every time he looked at them. In fact, there were only a few pale pink spots now. The doctor carefully removed them, smiling at the rate they were healing. What were once deep holes were now shallow valleys, his body regenerating the tissue at a highly efficient rate. Pietro took a deep breath, relishing in the fact that he no longer felt like knives were stuck in his lungs.

"I'm not asking your permission, I was just telling you as a courtesy." came an angry female voice from the hallway. He actually recognized it, meaning it had to be Laura's voice. Dr. McCoy continued his work on the wounds - Pietro hoped he wasn't saying anything to him, because his attention was definitely elsewhere now.

"And I'm telling you that it's a bad idea." a gruff male voice answered. This one, he didn't recognize.

"He said Hydra, Logan. _Hydra._ I have to look into it." she answered.

"You don't _have_ to do anything." the Logan guy pointed out. It seemed they had stopped conveniently outside the med bay. Convenient for eavesdropping ears, that is.

"I can't just sit by and let them experiment more. What happens if they bring back Weapon X, huh? Do you enjoy getting attacked in the middle of the woods by your clones?" she answered sharply. Pietro could practically feel the anger rolling off of her.

"So you're just gonna run off with some guy and hope the Avengers help you on your mission to wipe out an entire terrorist organization?" Logan deadpanned.

"This has nothing to do with him and everything to do with the fact that I can't let them continue on with this." she answered. A deep sigh answered her - Logan was giving in. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen? Cap arrests me again? Widow would never let that happen."

A long pause followed her statement. "Just be careful kid, okay?"

"I'll be just as careful as you are." she answered.

"That's what worries me." he said.

"Okay, Mr. Maximoff, all finished." Dr. McCoy said, bringing Pietro back down to earth. Their voices were still in the background, but he forced his attention to the doctor. "Your wounds look great, but I would still have Dr. Cho check them regularly for the next couple days. Please get dressed at your leisure, your ride should be here soon."

"Thank you, Doctor." Pietro said, extending his hand out. Not many people were worthy of the speedster's respect, but this furry blue physician certainly was. Dr. McCoy smiled, shaking his hand.

"Not a problem, son. Just don't go dying again, okay?" he said with a toothy grin.

"It is not in my plans." Pietro replied. The doctor nodded, turning and leaving him to get dressed. Once the plain sweatpants and tshirt were back on, he made his way out the door. He figured the front foyer would be the best place to wait for Fury. Laura and whoever this Logan person was had finished their conversation - he saw her heading towards the front of the mansion, and he saw a buff, hairy man going the opposite direction. He hoped they ended on good terms.

He heard a rumbling in the distance, quickly getting louder. Soon, he could make out the different _thump-thump-thump_ noises of helicopter blades cutting through the air. The Avengers were here. He followed the sound to the foyer of the mansion. Laura was waiting there, leaning against the door with crossed arms and a serious countenance.

"Come to say goodbye?" he asked with a smirk, even if he knew the answer. She perked an eyebrow at the question - clearly she knew he was playing something.

"I thought I destroyed Hydra. I was wrong." she said bluntly. He kept his smirk in place.

"And here I thought you liked me." he said smoothly. She cocked her head to the side, looking just past him for a moment as if she was solving a difficult math question.

"Well, I don't hate you." she said finally, her gaze piercing into him.

"Eh, could be worse then." he said with a shrug. The helicopter sounds were very close now.

"True. Usually it doesn't end well for the people I hate." she responded with a mischievous grin, turning and opening the front door. The helicopter was making its descent onto the front lawn, the blades causing the air to whip around them.

"Were you threatening me or flirting with me?" he called over the loud sounds of the aircraft. She didn't give him an answer, instead just giving him that eerie smile again before turning. The helicopter landed, and Agent Fury stepped out. Pietro had to hand it to him, he almost hid his surprise at seeing Laura there - almost.

"You're not usually part of the welcoming committee. You know I'm not here for you this time, right?" he stated, crossing her arms and looking at the girl. Laura shrugged, looking completely at ease with the situation.

"Figured this would be easier than trying to stow away on a tiny helicopter." she retorted, crossing her arms as well.

"Uh-uh. Nope. I'm here for one person, and one person only." he answered, pointing to Pietro. "Mr. Maximoff, go ahead and hop on in."

"I'd kind of like to see how this plays out though." he said, gesturing between the two of them. "Unless you plan to continue it on board as in-flight entertainment."

"Get. In." Fury said shortly. Pietro thought he _should_ feel nervous, the way the two were looking at him after his quip, but that's honestly what made it so funny to him. The burning anger radiating from both of their gazes was completely worth it.

"Might as well then." he conceded, pushing through the wind and pulling himself up into the aircraft. Fury and Laura continued to argue outside, but the sounds of the chopper didn't let him hear what they were saying. They went on for a few more minutes before Laura roughly pushed past him, letting her shoulder hit his arm. Fury was pushed back further than one would expect, and he bitterly rubbed the spot where her shoulder had hit him. Pietro raised his eyebrows - he guessed she wasn't lying about the metal-laced skeleton. She leapt like a cat into the helicopter, idly tossing her bag down and sinking into the seat next to him. He watched as she buckled up, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and crossed her legs, ready to take off. She turned, brow furrowing at his look.

"What?" she asked with a salty tone.

"You're very intriguing." he said with a smile.

"Shut up." she said shortly, turning to look out the window instead. His grin stayed as he turned to Fury, who was also looking perturbed as he sat across from them. Pietro had the feeling that he was not used to not getting his way. He opened his mouth to make fun of the man, but was cut off by the chopper lurching off the ground and into the air. Normally he wasn't one to get motion sickness, but his body had been through a lot the past couple weeks, and he wasn't quite ready for the bumpy ride. He was at least happy to have something to focus on for the ride (not throwing up), because his companions spent most of the time glaring either at each other or out the window. He made a mental note to try and swindle their history out of Laura - he knew he wasn't going to get _much_ information, but he figured he could at least get a little bit. He then added an addendum to that note to find out why Captain America arrested her.

His stomach jolted again, but this time less because of the helicopter and more out of fear. Pietro and Wanda had met a lot of scary people over the last couple years, and they had met them all with brave faces. Nervous hearts, but brave faces. They had always rushed into everything head first, believing that what they were doing was right, was for the greater good, and that whoever they encountered would not be as strong as them. But how many times had they come up on the wrong end? Hydra had told them that they would help them, that what they were doing could change the world - save it. But they were the bad guys. He glanced over at Laura - Hydra didn't just change her, they _made_ her. This whole time, she'd been admitting all the darker sides of herself with a flippant attitude, as if she had nothing to lose. If Pietro had learned anything about himself and his sister, it was that you could never predict someone who had nothing to lose.

Laura chose that moment to look over, catching him staring. Her eyes moved down to his chest for a second, then returned to his. The area around her eyes softened, and her shoulders sagged. The movements were barely perceptible - he was only able to spot them thanks to his enhancements, and how they made the world move in slow motion. Something showed in her gaze for a brief moment - disappointment? Confusion? Again he wasn't sure, and she turned to look back out the window before he could figure it out. He wondered if she could hear his thoughts; he had heard of people who could see into others' minds, make them think things and do things. His twin was one of them.

 _If you can hear me, look at me!_ He thought aggressively, looking at the back of her head. She didn't move at all, not even a flinch. He relaxed, sure that he was the only one who could hear his thoughts. He turned back, catching the eye of Agent Fury. He was looking at the young man with a curious expression on his face, but Pietro quickly looked out the window to avoid any questions. He watched as the helicopter flew over a dense forest. Suddenly the trees stopped, opening into a large clearing with a few broad buildings situated in it. The familiar Avengers "A" stared at him from the roof of the biggest one. He looked to Fury with a perplexed expression.

"We got a new facility." he yelled over the thundering of the helicopter. Pietro nodded back, his eyebrows raised. The pilot eased the chopper down, landing quite gracefully in Pietro's opinion. His stomach still rolled at the motion, but nonetheless it was as smooth a landing as he could ask for. Fury slid out of his seat, Pietro following him and Laura coming after them. Fury led them to the door, down two flights of stairs and into a long hallway. He tapped his ear as he walked, activating what Pietro assumed was a comm link.

"Cap, if you wouldn't mind bringing Wanda down to the front. I believe she would be happy to welcome one of our guests to the new facility." he said, striding down the hallway like a man on a mission. "Yes, we got a bit of a tagalong when leaving the Institute. I believe you two have met." he continued, apparently answering Steve's response. The two men looked at Laura, but she was dutifully ignoring the both of them and texting on her phone instead. Fury made a face that showed he was slightly more annoyed than usual, but didn't say anything else. They rounded a corner into a wide, open room. Pietro was a bit in awe - Stark Tower (Avenger's Tower?) had been impressive, but this…this was a true Avenger's _complex_.

Fury stopped here. Pietro found himself fidgeting. He and Wanda had not been separated for this long in their entire lives, and he couldn't quite define the emotion he was feeling right now. Nervousness? Excitement? Fear? His sister had gone the past two or three weeks thinking he was dead. How was she going to react?

"But we have training now." he heard her before he saw her. It felt so weird, knowing that she was right next to him but not sensing her in his mind. He hadn't noticed how accustomed he had become to their mental link. He realized her and Steve were walking down the stairs above them, and she had no idea what she was being called out for.

"You can make up the time. I believe this is something that you'd like a lot better." Steve said, his smile evident in his voice. The two of them made it to the bottom of the stairs, turning and facing the small group. Wanda stopped, here eyes wide as saucers as they landed on Pietro. His heart nearly stopped; her familiar face was the most wonderful thing his tired eyes had ever seen. She was at a loss for words, turning to Steve with a question on her lips that she couldn't quite form. She looked back at Pietro, tears beginning to build.

"You can hug him, you know." Steve finally said, breaking the silence. Wanda immediately broke into a run, launching herself into her brother's arms. Her hair was flung into his face and the tight hug was less than optimal for his almost-healed wounds, but he didn't care. Pietro found tears in his own eyes as he felt his sister's embrace again. Nothing could replace this moment, being reunited with his twin.

 _"They told me you died."_ she said, speaking to him in their native language.

 _"I came back to life."_ he replied, clutching her tightly. _"I couldn't leave you on your own, you'd never make it."_

"Hey!" she exclaimed, pulling back and smacking him on the shoulder. Right on a bullet wound. Pietro did his best to hide the pain, letting just a small wince show through. Wanda didn't notice though, and was instead focusing on his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked as she put her hands on his cheeks.

"Is it really you?" she questioned in return, her eyes flitting across his face. She looked as though she thought she was dreaming.

"Yes. It is really me." he answered with a smile.

"I cannot read you." she said, her eyes clouded with worry.

"I did die, you know. That changes a man." he pointed out, making her eyes water and her lips turn up in a smile.

"Yes, but even death was not fast enough for you." she teased. She pulled him close to her again, barely believing that this was real.

"X23, didn't know you'd be joining us." Steve said to Laura, who looked like she hadn't been planning to speak with the Captain so soon.

"Had some questions for you. Figured you wouldn't mind a voluntary visit." she said with a shrug, slipping her phone into a pocket.

"You! Did you save him?" Wanda asked, turning to her.

"I, uh, helped." Laura said shortly, confused as to why it mattered. Her eyes widened in alarm as Wanda also pulled her into a tight hug, and she awkwardly patted the girl on the shoulder.

"Thank you so much." Wanda said, releasing her and choosing to ignore how rigid she had gone at the contact.

"Yea don't mention it." Laura (X23?) said, giving her a half smile.

"I know that voice." someone else said from the staircase above them. They turned to see Natasha standing there, eyes trained on them.

"We picked up a stray." Fury said idly. Natasha vaulted herself over the railing, landing next to Steve and in front of Laura.

"Hold this." she said to Steve, handing him the tablet that she was carrying. Steve's eyebrows furrowed, but he took the tablet from her anyways. Laura perked an eyebrow and grinned as Natasha walked towards her - it was possibly the realest smile Pietro had seen on her since they'd met. Natasha stopped in front of the other woman, and for a moment he thought these two incredibly tough women were going to embrace.

Instead, Black Widow tried to punch Laura in the face.

* * *

Oh snap! What's going on?

By the way, I should point out that Laura aka X23 is _not_ a character of my own creation. She is part of the X-Men universe, and I just love her and Quicksilver together.

 **JackieOh:** OH HEY WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW I NEED TO FINISH THIS well guess what it's finished. I hope you like it!

 **blueaqualily:** I'm so glad you like the characterization and the writing! I'm sorry the update wasn't super quick, but you did get to see the Maximoff twin reunion! I hope this chapter was quality for you! :D

 **untouchable hexing witch:** Fellow Xietro lover! Thank you so much for the review, I hope you liked this chapter! It's a little different than the Evo verse...but I'm having fun with it!

 **Janedoee7:** Weeeeeeeeee! It feels like it's been so long since those one shots...we need to bring those back around! Actually I think I still have like 2 or 3 to do...anyways! I'm so glad you liked chapter 1 and I hope you liked this chapter also!

 **Silver:** Yay I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully this chapter was good enough that you still want to keep reading! :D Thank you so much for reviewing!

As always, please take a moment to review and let me know what you think! Writers love to hear that kind of stuff. Also, if you're on the tumblr, feel free to come hang out. You can find me under the username whindsor.

Thanks y'all!

-XM


	3. Chapter 3

So I feel like if it's been over a year it's a little too late to apologize for the late update. But life is crazy y'all so let's just roll with it.

 **Chapter 3: Coming Home**

Pietro had seen a lot of fights in his life. Hell, he had participated in a lot of fights in his life. Ever since he was young, he was known as a trouble maker. He messed with the bullies on the playground, or with the neighbor boys in the apartment above them that were way too rowdy. When they were older, he got in fights with the creepy guys that would hit on Wanda. Then he would get in fights for being the creepy guy hitting on girlfriends and sisters. He had seen a lot of fights in his short life. But none of them were as skillful - or rather, artful - as this one between Laura and the Black Widow.

He had to admit to himself that he was equally terrified of both of these women, and as they brawled right there in the entryway he realized that this fear was very much warranted. It wasn't a large scale fight like he anticipated - they weren't breaking things or throwing each other. In fact, as cliche as it sounded, they looked more like they were dancing than fighting. Laura had dodged the initial punch, and they took a few turns trying to land hits on each other. Initially, he thought they were angry with each other. After all, no one tried to inflict that much pain on someone they liked. That's what he thought, at least. After about a minute and a half, he realized that they weren't trying to kill each other - they were just playing. What were punches at first turned into weak attempts until the fight was completely dissolved. It was rather anticlimactic, actually, given the dramatic start. Soon Laura and Natasha were chatting like old war buddies, and the others had elected to ignore them and speak with Pietro instead.

"How are you feeling?" Steve asked, crossing his arms across his chest. "I'm sorry we couldn't treat you here. It couldn't have been easy waking up in a strange place."

"It was an adventure, yes." he said, thinking of his giant blue doctor. "I feel okay though. A little sore, maybe."

"That does tend to happen when you get shot." he replied with an understanding nod. Pietro turned to see his sister staring at him.

"What is it?" he asked, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"I just can't believe you're alive." she said. A tear slid down her cheek, but she quickly brushed it away. "Though it does bother me that I can't read you anymore."

"No, you should be grateful. Now you won't have to hear all my dirty thoughts." he said lightly, as if him dying hadn't been the way their mental link was severed.

"It has been blissfully serene these past few days." she responded. She tried to put some biting sarcasm in her statement, but couldn't do it. She was too happy to have her brother home.

"Pietro, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your new room." Steve said, turning away. The twins followed him, refusing to separate for the moment. Pietro turned to look at Laura, but she was focused on talking very closely with Natasha, both of them staring at the screen of her phone. Her eyes met his for a moment, but she looked away before he could make any gesture. What would he even say to her? Ask if she needed him to stick with her? Thank her for her help?

"That woman saved you?" Wanda asked quietly as they continued to follow Steve.

"She cleaned my wounds. They were very deep." he responded, trying not to think of how grizzly they had looked under the bright lights of the hospital wing.

"She is very scary, but I'm glad she was there." Wanda continued.

"You have no idea." he said, stopping as Steve paused between two hallways.

"Down this way is the women's dormitories. The men are this way." he said, pointing to the right and the left.

"You know, we are grown ups." Pietro said sarcastically.

"And that's exactly why they're separated." Steve retorted, leading them down the men's hallway. He pulled a key card out of his pocket, scanning it in front of a door. He then turned and handed the card to Pietro after opening the door to his new room.

"My own place, how fancy." he said. "It's like they actually trust us now."

"Shush." Wanda said, giving him an admonishing look. He grinned in response, still elated to be back with his sister.

"The stuff you originally brought is here, but you might find you need some other essentials. We'll work on getting those for you. If you need anything, just let us know." Steve said, giving them a nod before turning to leave.

"But Captain, what about training?" Wanda asked, walking over to the door.

"Like I said, I think you can make up the time another day." he said with a grin, turning and striding down the hallway.

"Really? You were going to choose training over your own brother?" Pietro asked in their native language, playing his tone as joking so as to not clue her in to how much the thought hurt.

"Of course not. I just didn't know if you were supposed to join." she replied in kind, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I just came back to life, like hell would I go to training." he said, pulling her close. He knew he had missed his sister during his days at the Institute, but until he was here, with her in his arms, he hadn't realized how much. Once again, he found his mind feeling empty without the presence of his tie with Wanda.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, pulling away and perching against his desk.

"Just how you seem to have become a goody-two-shoes in my absence." he said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Of course the mattress seemed top-of-the-line, which was quite different from the pallets that had been common for the past decade of their life.

"What can I say, the unyielding grief I felt at your death showed me the path to righteousness." she said. "I'm very glad you're alive, now I can give up the charade."

"Well I did keep breathing just for your sake." Pietro said back, hoping that once again his tone could hide how much of the truth he was sharing.

It occurred to him that now he actually would have to tell his sister the truth. It had been so much easier when they had their link, when he didn't have to actually verbalize what he was feeling - she just knew.

"So what do you think? When will we take our leave?" he asked her. She hesitated.

"I think maybe we should stay." she said. Pietro was taken aback.

"Stay? Here?" he questioned. Wanda was distrustful by nature, and the fact that she wanted to stay with the Avengers was less than expected.

"These people…they aren't perfect." she said, looking down at her hands and pulling her sleeves over them. "But they understand. And they took care of me after…after you…" She had been joking about his death just moments ago, but now the gravity of the situation stifled them.

"I'm sorry I left you." he said solemnly. She gave a humorless laugh.

"It wasn't your fault. You were trying to be the hero, just like always." she said, going to sit next to him on the bed. She reached over and took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"And that's what these people are? Heroes?" he asked. She shrugged.

"They're good. And we need good right now." she said. He nodded in agreement, letting go of her hand in order to pull her into another hug. No matter where they went, as long as they were together, they were home.

"If you say so. I suppose I can give it a try." he said with a dramatic sigh, switching back to English. He stood up, pulling Wanda up with him. "Now, when's lunch? I'm starving."

Wanda checked her watch. "Soon, actually. Let's go, before the others get there. Captain Rogers is very nice but he will eat everything if we let him." She led him out of his room, reminding him to grab the key card before he left. Pietro was grateful - he didn't want to get locked out of his room the first day after getting it.

She took him back down the hallway towards the main area, but turned away from it at a fork in the hall. Pietro memorized the turns as she made them; he had a feeling he would be returning to the kitchens soon, and often. She turned one final corner, and the floor opened up to a large area spread with tables and chairs. A long table was covered in different foods, looking like a celebratory feast.

"What's the occasion?" Pietro asked as Wanda handed him a plate. She gave him an odd look.

"What do you mean?" she replied. His eyes widened.

"You mean it's like this every day?" he said. Wanda laughed.

"Yea." she said, as if it were obvious. Pierre turned to the railing, the room overlooking a larger cafeteria where agents in matching uniforms were eating.

"And what do they get?" he asked her.

"The same thing we do." came a male voice. Pierre turned to see Tony Stark waltzing in, hands in pockets and a grin on his face. "I just find that Rogers and Romanoff actually get some peace and quiet if we eat up here. The new recruits are apparently not shy at all when it comes to asking out their bosses."

"It's fun sometimes." Natasha said, walking past Tony and grabbing a plate. Laura was right behind her, making a quick face at Pietro that he couldn't decipher before pushing past him and Wanda in the line.

"Only because you enjoy making those kids sweat." Banner replied, taking a seat at a nearby table instead of joining in the food fray. Pietro suddenly felt overwhelmed being surrounded by the Avengers, and so instead focused on loading up two plates worth of food. He followed Wanda towards the tables. He cast a glance where Laura and Natasha were sitting, but Wanda didn't pay them any mind. She instead went to a nearby table, setting her food down and inviting Pietro to sit. He sat with his back to the balcony, instead choosing to watch the people around him.

Soon Captain Rogers walked in, causing Laura to stiffen up. The movement was barely perceptible, but Pietro could spot it. She continued to converse with Natasha, but her eyes were watching Steve.

Steve said his hellos, going straight to the food. He glanced at Laura briefly, but she was focused on Natasha. He wondered if everyone else could feel the tension between the two, or if it was just him. He could hear Wanda's voice as she told him about something - training, maybe? - but couldn't focus on the words. He remembered the brief mention that Steve had arrested her once, but didn't know any details besides that.

"Steve!" Natasha called, getting his attention. Laura looked alarmed for a split second, but quickly schooled her face to a neutral expression. "Come here, I have a question for you."

"I can't right now, Nat. I'm working on something with Sam." he said, somewhat detached. Laura kept her eyes down, suddenly very interested with what was on her plate.

"Come on, it'll only take a second." Natasha insisted.

"Another time." he said with a tight smile, turning and heading back out the door. Pietro looked to see Laura's reaction, but his vision was blocked by Wanda's snapping fingers.

"Are you listening to anything I'm saying?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Sorry, I got distracted." he answered. Her face fell.

"Is it like when the powers first emerged?" she asked softly. He paused.

"Sort of." he said. It wasn't a lie, technically. But it wasn't exactly true either. Wanda left it alone, and Pietro stayed focused on their conversation for the duration of the meal. He felt very out of place with the Avengers, whereas clearly his sister had been able to integrate seamlessly. He wondered if it would take time to get used to their new place of residence, or if he would always feel that way. He wondered if Wanda felt completely at home here, or if she had reservations as well.

One look at her face, smiling and laughing and full of life for the first time in years, and Pietro knew that she loved it here. He hoped he could soon love it too.

Sleep did not come easy that night. While he had been healing initially, he had been able to sleep better, as his body required the rest in order to knit itself back together. But now that he was mostly healed, it was more difficult. He couldn't decide if the bed was too hard or too soft, but it took him hours to find a comfortable position. Any time he laid still, the silence seemed to weigh on him from every side. He felt a falling sensation multiple times before finally sinking into a fitful sleep.

He dreamed he was back in Sokovia. The city was once again floating in the sky, but this time the streets were empty. Debris skittered across the ground with the high winds flowing through the streets. It seemed he was alone.

"Hello?" he called out. Though no one was in sight, he could feel a presence around him. He turned and looked over his shoulder, but the same empty roads faced him. He sped through a few blocks, but he still couldn't find another soul. He sped to the center of the town, to the spot where he had last seen Wanda. Pietro stared at the edifice of the building, its architecture grand and detailed, even in his dream. He knew he must go in there, but something inside him told him not to. Even as he was thinking of reasons to not enter, his feet began moving towards the door. His muscles strained as he tried to stop moving forward, but it only seemed to encourage his body to move faster. His heart was racing, fear seeping through him the closer he got. The door was looming in front of him, appearing to be twenty feet tall. He didn't want to know what was behind it. He didn't want to see what lay beyond. Against his will, his arm lifted to the handle, pushing with a strength that he didn't possess. The door creaked open, revealing nothing but darkness. For a moment, he was relieved; perhaps his intuition was wrong.

A stabbing pain went through his chest and his abdomen. He looked down to see metal spikes impaled through him, in the very spots where bullets had hit him before. Two red glowing eyes appeared in the darkness beyond, staring into his soul as he felt blood gurgling in his throat.

 _You. Are. Still. Mine._

Pietro awoke with a start, sitting up so fast that he felt lightheaded for a moment. The voice was still echoing in his head, the low tones reverberating through his brain. He called to Wanda in his mind, but quickly remembered that she would not hear him. The simple t-shirt and shorts he was wearing were soaked through with sweat, sticking to him as he moved. The areas where his wounds had healed were tingling, and he had the sudden fear that they were reopened and deep again.

He got up, peeling off his shirt as he walked into the en suite bathroom. He looked into the mirror eagerly, checking each of the bullet wounds. Pale pink scars reflected in the bright light of the bathroom, with no signs of blood or reinjury. He pulled off the shorts as well, chucking them into a nearby bin and looking at the spots on his legs. Satisfied that he was still healed and alive, he cut on the shower. After a quick, cold rinse, he felt his heart rate return to his normal rhythm, and the tingling from his wounds had stopped.

He also felt hungry.

Reaching into the drawers, he pulled out a pair of sweatpants and an Avengers t-shirt, slipping them on quickly. He found a pair of slip on shoes in the closet, and donned them before quietly slipping out of his room. He paused at the fork in the hallway, wondering if he should go and wake Wanda. He decided against it, not wanting to disturb his sister from her peaceful sleep. He made his way down to the kitchens, trying his best to move silently through the dark, empty corridors. Small lights along the floors of the hallways showed him the way, but he was surprised to see light coming from underneath the door to the kitchen.

"We have to stop meeting like this." he said, pushing open the door and finding Laura sitting on the kitchen counter. She perked an eyebrow at him.

"Girl's gotta eat." she replied, taking a bite of what seemed to be leftover chili.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked. She picked up the lid of the container, showing how the name "Natasha" was penned across the top of it.

"In the fridge. There's plenty of quality left overs to choose from." she said, also pulling out a piece of cornbread.

"I'm not that brave." he replied. He opened the fridge to see an entire shelf full of take out containers, many of the boxes labelled with a scribble that vaguely resembled "Tony."

"Eh, Widow won't care. If I wanted to be daring I'd take it from Cap." she said, taking another bite. "Tony for sure won't notice though, he usually only takes left overs when Pepper makes him. You should probably make sure nothing's growing on it though."

"I don't know if that makes me trust it more or less." Pietro responded, reaching in and grabbing one of the top cartons. He popped open the top, revealing a good amount of spaghetti and a slab of garlic bread. It seemed fresh enough, so he took it to the microwave and heated it up.

"So why're you up at this time of night?" Laura asked, her eyes on him while her hands continued to focus on her food. He took his from the microwave, sitting on the kitchen island across from her. A respectable space was between them.

"Sleep wasn't kind to me tonight." Pietro asked vaguely, for some reason not wanting to admit to Laura that he'd had a bad dream. "You?"

"If I stay up late enough, then it decreases my likelihood of a nightmare by 78%." she replied nonchalantly. Pietro was taken aback by her honesty.

"You have bad dreams too?" he asked.

"You're surprised?" she answered, once again perking an eyebrow.

"Good point." he said, remembering her past and the brief insights of it that she had shared with him. "So staying up late, that's the key?"

"That, and exhausting yourself through exercise." she said. "The Professor told me I should try therapy, but I think we're beyond that point."

"My sister suggested that once too. Though it was for other reasons." he said. Laura looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped herself. He thought of encouraging her to continue, but instead changed the subject. "Did you get the answers you were looking for? From Captain Rogers?"

"Not yet. I figured I'd give him twenty-four hours to stew on seeing my face again before asking for favors." she said carefully. She put her food down, staring at him with (what he thought was) complete attention for the first time that night. "Can I ask you a question?"

His heart nearly stopped, but he fixed a smirk on his face. "Anything for you." he said, considering adding a wink for good measure. Flirting, always his crutch.

"How did you come by Hydra? Did they take you and your sister?" she asked. A normal person wouldn't notice the subtle differences in her inflections, but now that his powers were back at full force, he could see more. He could tell she was also fighting to hide her emotions, trying not to show that she wanted to find a likeness to herself in him. He looked away, her green eyes making him feel guilty.

"We volunteered." he said bitterly, figuring she would be able to tell if he was lying. He felt the need to defend the decision. "Wanda and I...we were left with nothing. And Strucker promised us power and money and revenge, which was everything we needed at the time. We got the powers, but that's about it. Still broke, still trying to sort out feelings of right and wrong and who's on the good side."

"Sometimes even the people you think are good aren't in the right." she said. At first he thought she was talking about him, about his admission that they had volunteered for Hydra. But the look in her eye implied that she was thinking about someone else, in a different time. Pietro waited for her to elaborate, but she stayed silent. His heart puttered with anger - she had asked him a deeply personal question, and he had given her a deeply personal answer. And all she was offering in return was a cryptic statement.

She met his eyes again. "I know that when people offer personal information I'm supposed to reply in kind." she said shortly. His anger quickly dissipated as he heard the subtle notes of hurt in her voice and noticed the tension in her body. "But sometimes you just don't want to relive the bad times."

She jumped off the counter, and for just a second Pietro was scared again. He thought of that morning in the mansion, when she had thrown him against the wall and threatened him without a second thought.

"I get it. Maybe letting go of the past isn't such a bad idea." he responded. He thought he was hiding his emotions well, but the sag in her shoulders told him that somehow she could sense his moment of fear. She nodded, turning and walking towards the door. "Hey Laura?"

"Yes?" she paused, barely looking over her shoulder at him.

"If you're going to take down Hydra, I want to come with you." he said boldly. Wanda may have turned to the side of the good and kind, but he was not ready to. His blood burned with the memories of what Hydra had done to them, what they had made them. She gave a short bark of a laugh.

"Not a chance in hell, Speedy." she said, turning away again. He sped in front of her, blocking her exit from the kitchen. She didn't flinch at his sudden appearance, but her feet shifted, putting her in a defensive position.

"These people ruined us. They built us up just to tear us apart in the end. And now I want to tear them apart." he explained. She shook her head.

"You have no idea what you're volunteering for." she stated. She went to move around him, but he wouldn't let her. "Move out of the way."

"No. You can't take them on by yourself." he said, staring at her intensely.

"You don't want to do this. This isn't your fight anymore." she said through gritted teeth. He could tell she was getting frustrated.

"I do want to do this." he said. "Check my heart beat. That's how you can tell my emotions, right? You can hear it or feel it or something?"

Her eyes widened. "Who told you I could do that?"

"You did."

"I did not-"

"You're not the only one who's observant around here." he said pointedly. She paused for a moment, looking like she was solving a complicated math problem.

"Your speed slows things down?" It was phrased as a question, but sounded more like a statement.

"Yep." he replied. She looked like she was considering it for a second, but then shook her head.

"Absolutely not. Too dangerous." she said finally, once again trying to push around him. Once again, he moved to block her path. She let out a low, frustrated growl.

"We can play this game all night. Or you can just agree to let me join you. I'm very stubborn, my sister would agree." he said in a nonchalant manner, as if he weren't volunteering to help take down an entire terrorist organization. She glared at him, her eyes narrowed. It wasn't often she met someone as stubborn as her. He stared back with a smirk, his eyes glinting with a challenge.

"I will consider letting you come-" He started to interject with a celebration, but she held up a hand to silence him. "-on recon missions."

"It's a start." Pietro said, finally moving aside and allowing her to pass. She glared at him, choosing not to respond as she finally pushed her way out of the kitchen. Pietro grinned to himself, going back and finishing off the spaghetti before heading back to bed.

Woooo another chapter down! This story may take me a decade to write, but I promise I haven't forgotten about it.

If you want more of Laura and Pietro, feel free to come chat with me on Tumblr under the username whindsor. I like getting prompts and stuff!

Also shoutout to JessicaA.S, Princess2016, I'm A Multifandom Kind Of Girl, janedoee7, untouchable hexing witch, and JackieOh for your wonderful reviews and support!

Please feel free to take a second and let me know what you think! It fuels me.


	4. Chapter 4

Heeeeeey, an update in less than a year. Huzzah! Hope y'all enjoy!

 **Chapter 4: Underground**

Pietro did not adjust well to Avenger life.

The first couple days were fine - he wasn't expected to do much besides rest and get the lay of the land. But after Dr. Cho officially cleared him, he was quickly pushed into a busy and detailed schedule. Captain Rogers said it was to get him "back in shape," but Pietro couldn't help but feel like he had been enlisted without his consent. His only consolation was that Laura seemed to be as annoyed by the Avengers and their schedule as he was. The only difference was instead of having to participate in the activities, she was having to avoid them. Captain Rogers wouldn't let her be in the gym when they were working out, or in the simulation room when they were training. In fact, he seemed to be trying to keep her out of any area where the team was in general.

She confessed during one of their late night kitchen rendezvous that she didn't mind it so much. She said she had never been much of a team player, and she was only annoyed because she wanted Widow around in case anything went awry in the complex. Pietro wondered how true it actually was; he still wasn't able to interpret most of her (subtle) signs of emotions, and now she was trying even harder to hide them from him.

When he wasn't with his sister, Pietro tried to hang out with Laura. He wanted to spend time with Wanda, but she was often accompanied by one or more of the Avengers. It wasn't that he didn't like his new teammates, he just had difficulty seeing eye to eye with them. Often times their strategy sessions and training missions were aimed at peace, or rescue. And Pietro respected those missions, he really did. One day, he would be ready to focus on them. But for now, he wanted to focus on taking down the organization that ruined him.

"Mr. Maximoff!" Steve called, snapping Pietro back to the present time. "Something on your mind?"

"Lots of things, Captain." he replied with a smirk, turning away from the observation deck where Natasha and Laura were watching. Steve tried to remain expressionless, but Pietro could see him stiffen slightly.

"You don't want to get involved with X23." he said lowly.

"Strange, I feel otherwise." he snarked back. If there was one thing Pietro hated most, it was being told what to do.

"Maximoff, she's not who she says she is. Whatever she's told you is probably a lie. She's a cold blooded murderer with nothing but a survival instinct." he said. In the short time Pietro had known him, he had not heard Steve talk so negatively about someone.

"That's pretty much what she told me. So what do I believe?" he asked. He enjoyed trying Steve's patience like this.

"Just stay away from her." Steve said. Pietro turned and started walking away. "Maximoff!"

"I'll think about it." he said airily, deciding that he was done with his training for the day. He glanced at the observation deck; Widow looked bored, but Laura was smirking. He wondered if she could hear the conversation through the thick glass.

He dutifully ignored Steve all during lunch, instead listening to Wanda and her stories of how her powers were progressing. Laura and Widow came in, earning a dark look from Steve. Once again, Pietro was distracted, wanting to see if anything went down between them. But Steve just kept an eagle eye on them as they gathered their food, and Laura ducked out of the room once her plate was loaded.

"Just go talk to her." Wanda said in a frustrated tone.

"What?" Pietro said, bringing himself back to the conversation.

"Every time she's here, you get distracted. I may not be able to read your mind anymore, but you're very obvious about your infatuation." she said with a smirk.

"I'm not infatuated with her. Just...intrigued." he said.

"That's how it always starts." she replied.

"None of that. Haven't you heard? Captain America told me I should stay away from her." he said, his words dripping in sarcasm. Wanda perked an eyebrow.

"What did she do?" she asked. "I've never heard an alarming thought from her. Though she seems to be guarded, like she expects someone to be reading her mind."

"She's kind of...killed a few people." he said, though not in a way that sounded concerned. Wanda shrugged.

"So have we." Wanda said. "And Natasha. And most everyone, I think."

"It's weird. He weirdly doesn't like her." Pietro realized.

"Probably a pride thing." Wanda decided. "But you'll never know if you don't go talk to her."

"Even if I talk to her I still may never know." he said. Wanda tapped the table, standing up with her trash.

"Well I have to go work on intel with Stark. What's next on your list?" she asked. Pietro stood up with her, tapping his watch to show his schedule.

"Supposedly helping Dr. Banner with research." he said.

"'Supposedly'?" Wanda asked, walking out of the room with him.

"Well I don't particularly want to be there, and he doesn't really want me there. So I think I'll just do us both a favor and find a different way to occupy my time." he explained.

"Uh huh." Wanda said, unconvinced. "Well just don't get hurt. Or do anything stupid."

"I make no promises." he said, pulling her close and laying a kiss on her forehead. She rolled her eyes, shoving him away before turning and walking down the hallway. Pietro made his way outside, figuring he might run in to Laura out there.

Sure enough, she was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, empty plate next to her and phone to her ear. She was speaking in a language he didn't understand; French, maybe?

"I'll call you back later." she said in English as Pietro approached.

"You speak French too?" he asked, sitting down next to her without waiting for an invitation. She eyed him warily (as she often did when he voluntarily entered space close to her), but he didn't think anything of it. She hadn't made good on any of her threats yet, so he figured he wasn't in any real trouble.

"I speak twelve languages." she said shortly. "Where's your task master?"

"I've decided to improvise a bit with today's schedule." he said, leaning against the wall and putting his hands behind his head. Laura gave a short chuckle.

"Going against the machine. How rebellious of you." she said. He shrugged.

"Eh, I'm a rebellious man." he said. "So are we going to France?"

"'We'?" she asked.

"Yes, we. You said I could join you on your warpath." he reminded her.

"I said I would _think_ about letting you come on _recon_ missions." she reiterated.

"Well I assume the first mission is a recon mission, that's just common sense." he said. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"No, we're not going to France." she said. She let out a sigh. "As soon as I get clearance, _I_ will be going to Canada."

"We." he said. She let out a frustrated groan.

"You are insufferably stubborn." she growled.

"How do you get clearance if Captain Rogers is so…?" he didn't know how to finish the question. In the distance, he could hear the _bat-bat-bat-bat_ of helicopter blades.

"Adamantly opposed to my very existence?" she finished for him, giving him a sarcastic smile.

"You said it, not me." he said.

"Well Nick Fury is still technically higher up, and he wants me to get in and get out of here as fast as possible. Also he owes me a couple of favors." she explained, checking her watch.

"And how do we talk to Nick Fury?" he asked. She checked her watch again.

"Listen. I don't know what you think is going on here, but we're not about to go rampaging into a Hydra base and blow everyone up. This sort of thing takes research, and planning, and time. It's not all guns and glory and sweet, sweet revenge. So, you really wanna come with me?" she answered his question with a question. She stood up, staring at him with hard green eyes. She picked up a backpack that he hadn't noticed before.

"You really have to ask at this point?" he continued the trend. She didn't answer right away. The only sound was the beating of the helicopter blades in the distance.

"You have two and a half minutes to get whatever you need before we politely ask for that chopper." she said, pointing to the helicopter in the distance. He smirked.

"And what will I do with the other two minutes and twelve seconds?"

"Beats the hell out of me, Speedy. Better get going." she deadpanned. He sped off, going up to his room and quickly packing a bag for a few days. He really didn't know what he was getting into, but he found he didn't really care. This was the first step towards making things right, and he was ready to jump right into it. Wanda always said his worst trait was his impulsivity; Pietro preferred to think of it as being spontaneous. When he got back to Laura, the chopper was just making its way over them, making her dark hair start to dance in its wake.

"I thought helicopters were made for short distances?" he questioned, suddenly wondering how many stops they were going to have to make for gas.

"Please, you think Stark invents anything that goes short distances?" she replied. The chopper descended, taking its time before touching down in front of them. Fury jumped out, his brows furrowing behind his sunglasses as he saw the two of them waiting for him.

"What do you want?" he yelled as the blades started winding down.

"I need to borrow that." Laura said gesturing to the aircraft. She blinked, as if remembering something. "Please."

"And why would I let you just take this, without any of the protocol that any of the other actual agents of SHIELD have to follow to use our state of the art, very expensive equipment?" he asked.

"Because the sooner I take care of business the sooner you never have to see me again?" she offered. The set of his mouth said that reason wasn't good enough.

"And?" he said.

"And you know I'm as good a pilot as Jeremy over there, meaning that you won't have to pay him to take me." she added.

"And?" he asked again.

"And if I crash the plane, then the Professor will cover all expenses and my healing factor would cover any medical costs that may accrue." she finished. Fury stared at them for what felt like hours before letting out a long, frustrated sigh.

"Do not make me regret this. And do not, under any circumstances, tell Rogers." Fury said.

"Like I ever willingly talk to him." Laura said with a grin. Fury was not amused, and chose to signal the pilot and walk away without further discourse. Laura turned to Pietro, jerking her head towards the helicopter.

"Time to go?" he asked.

"Time to go." she responded, walking up to the aircraft. She gave a toothy smile to Jeremy, who quickly passed over his head gear and exited the craft. Pietro thought he walked away a little faster than he normally would. Laura sank into the pilot's chair, bucking the belt across her torso and pulling on the headset. Pietro followed her lead, even though he would be no help at the controls.

"If you're going to back out, now is the time." she said, her voice crackling slightly over the headset. There was no accusation in her voice, just matter-of-fact.

"Let's go." he responded, gesturing towards the horizon. She gave a smirk, flipping a few switches on the dash and pressing a couple buttons. After the few tense minutes it took for the chopper to warm back up, Pietro felt the all-too familiar feeling of taking flight.

The ride was quiet. Laura was an excellent conversationalist in his opinion, but he liked that she didn't feel the need to fill silence. Right now, it helped him focus in his energy. His powers were still a little haywire, just as they had been at the beginning. Like before, the training was helping, but he still needed to mentally bring himself together before he could do anything productive. A couple hours later, Laura dropped the chopper behind some trees, landing softly in the grass. She settled the chopper, situating it to wait until their return. Before exiting the craft, she pulled off her tshirt, and replaced it with a high-tech looking spandex suit.

"I wasn't aware we had uniforms for this." Pietro said, turning away as she changed. Normally women undressing in front of him was a welcome thing, but it didn't feel the same in this setting. He was in his work mode, and the hate fire burning lowly in him would not be smothered by errant thoughts.

"You won't find anything like this with the Avengers." she said, pulling on some black gloves. There were two silver slits in them - he assumed that's where her claws could exit. She had a mask in her hands as well, but she tossed it to the back of the craft, as if deciding that she didn't need it.

"And where are we going, exactly?" he asked, following her out of the chopper and onto the grass outside. There was a cold breeze that cut through his jacket, but otherwise the weather was mild. He could feel his body vibrating, warming him back up.

"There's an old base close to here." she said, setting off purposefully into the trees. "It was closed and destroyed due to an internal error, but I'm hoping we might be able to find a computer that wasn't completely botched."

"I feel like you were part of that 'internal error'." he said. She gave him a knowing smile.

"You're smarter than you look." she said. He didn't know whether or not to take offense, but realized by the look on her face that she was actually joking with him. He wasn't sure he'd heard her make a joke before.

" _Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes_." he responded in Russian, unsure of how it translated to English. She let out a bark of a laugh, and Pietro felt oddly proud of getting that reaction from her.

"Speedy, you are something else." she said, shaking her head. After that, their trek through the forest was relatively quiet. There was no snow on the ground, so the terrain was more manageable than Pietro thought it would be. Laura actually seemed at ease, melting herself into the surrounding nature. He felt loud and lumbering, following her borderline silent footsteps through the underbrush. Moments like this reminded him of the lengths of her training, and exactly how deep the habits ran.

Before he knew it, the trees dissipated, presenting a run down cement structure half hidden in the vegetation. Laura moved confidently toward it; he supposed she didn't sense anyone hiding in the structure. The spot that may have been a front entrance was covered in rubble, and half the building seemed to have caved in on itself. She ignored the front door, leading him around to the eastern side of the building. Her claws made quick work of the vines over a vent, as well as the top of the vent itself. She slid in first, disappearing into the abyss below. Pietro assumed that he was to follow her - she didn't exactly give him any instructions.

The room they landed in was dark and dirty, the low ceiling giving it a more claustrophobic feeling. Laura had already had a flashlight on, seemingly attached to the suit. It illuminated the mold growing in the corners, and various pieces of equipment in various states of decay. The equipment did not look current; it didn't match the sleeker technology that Hydra used with him and Wanda.

"When did this place shut down?" he asked as Laura kicked open the rusted door. She paused in the doorframe, thinking.

"Huh, about twelve years ago." she said, her tone suggesting that she was surprised at the passage of time.

The hallway beyond the door was just in the same state as the previous room. The air itself felt moldy, and the walls were slick with precipitation that was slipping in from unknown areas. Laura purposefully walked down the hallway. She spared no hesitance at the different crossroads, didn't even break stride as she led the way down, down, down into the building. Finally, they came to a big, heavy door at the end of a long, narrow hallway. Pietro had no idea how far under the surface they were, but he felt the pressure on his chest. He pushed the anxiety away with the thought that had kept him sane for the past year - all else fails, he could run away. He could outrun anything and escape.

The large door opened up into a large room. The ceiling was higher here, projecting into the above floors. Pietro walked slowly, trying to take in everything. There were catwalks across the top of the room, and miles of cords along the floor. The machinery - which looked large and bulky compared to today's standards. It wasn't dusty thanks to the depth of its location, but he felt the same dampness that was present in the rest of the base. He stopped in front of the remains of a large glass container, most of it shattered across the floor and glittering in the minimal light from the flashlight.

"Come on, we're almost there." Laura said. Her voice echoed through the chamber, emphasizing how hollow it sounded. This was one of the brief moments where her tough facade was broken - if he looked close enough, Pietro could tell that she didn't want to be there. He walked with her to the opposite end of the room, where a small door blended in with the wall. The panel to the right of it might have contained number buttons for a passcode at one point, but had been destroyed in the same violent fashion as the rest of the lab. She unleashed her claws - which still made Pietro flinch - and cut a giant 'X' in the door as if she were slicing through butter. One solid kick, and the door crumbled.

Dust sparkled in the beams of their flashlights, slowly settling on the floor of the room. It looked like it used to be a computer room, but all the electronics had been destroyed. Bits and pieces of wires and motherboards were strewn across the room, cracked and broken. Laura stepped over them without a second glance; she didn't seem fazed by the destruction around her at all. Pietro didn't quite know where to look. He had so many questions about everything in here, but the words stuck in his throat. Obviously Laura knew this base well, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to know why.

Laura pushed aside a large, black box. At one point it might have contained the inner workings of a computer, but now it was an empty, black shell. It groaned as she pushed it across the concrete floor with a strength that Pietro didn't quite expect. She fixed her flashlight on the back of the computer next to it; out of all of the stations, this one seemed the most intact.

"And what exactly are we looking for?" he asked, his voice seeming unnecessarily loud in the small, empty room. Laura flinched at the sound, but didn't look at him. She was still studying the back of the machine.

"If we can find a machine that's still relatively hooked up to the grid, then this handy thing-" she pulled a small, tablet-looking device from a pocket, "-will be able to tell us any points where the Hydra network is connected."

"Seems a little too easy." he pointed out.

"Well, first we have to find a working machine." she said, shoving away the computer she was currently looking at and moved on to the next one. "Then, that machine has to connect to the grid." She ran her eyes across the back of this machine, then shoved it away with a frustrated sigh. "And, if that machine can connect to the grid, there's about a four percent chance that it connects to the current grid." She pulled the last machine away from the wall, and began analyzing it.

"And what about the other ninety-six percent?" he wanted to help her, but had no idea what she was looking for. He had the feeling she wouldn't want to explain it to him.

"Well, if it connects to _any_ grid, that'll lead us to at least one other base. And we chase the rabbit from there until we can find the current operation." she answered, angrily slashing her claws through the last computer. Pietro noticed the way the pieces fell afterwards looked very familiar. She stood in the middle of the room, hands on her hips as she thought of her next move.

"So tell me something I can actually help you look for." he said, bringing her back to his original question. He was fidgeting now, his energy starting to peak. He had prepared himself to run, and yet here they were, standing. Her eyebrows betrayed a hint of her anger at his tone, but she quickly schooled her face back to the calm neutrality.

"If it computer is live, there will be a light in it. Any light." she said shortly. He nodded, taking off back into the large room with the broken glass.

About four and a half seconds into his search, he realized that he might not have made the best decision volunteering for this job. His powers were almost back under control, but the constant starting and stopping as he checked any electronic looking thing was taking a toll on his energy. He made sure to keep everything together while in the same room as Laura, but once he speeded out into the rest of the complex, he let the control waver. The thick stone walls were no worse for wear as he used them to balance himself, though his shoulders were getting a little sore from clipping them and running into them. Finally, he was able to find a computer with a light on, and he could actually run in a straight path back to the lower levels.

"Found one." he said, panting at the exertion. "Two levels up."

"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes." she quipped with a smirk. He paused as she walked by him.

"Was that...a joke?" he asked, shocked. That was now two jokes in the past twenty-four hours. She turned and looked at him, but her face gave him the idea that she was thinking of someone else.

"Every once in a while, I can actually be kind of funny." she said, turning and walking towards the door again. Her tone didn't betray any offense, so he wasn't sure if he'd hurt her feelings or not. He sped to catch up with her, leading her down the halls to the tiny room two floors up. The screens led him to believe that it was some sort of security room. He pointed to the one small computer in the corner, a faint red light emanating from the back of it. Laura smiled, pulling out her device and setting it on top.

"Is it working?" he asked as she tapped on the screen.

"We're about to find out." she replied, making a couple more taps on it. The screen filled with red numbers, numbers that flew by so quickly that he had to use his speed to read them. After a few seconds, the numbers dissolved and a red grid appeared. There were two glowing points that stayed as the screen was filled with topographical landscape.

"That looks promising." he said. Laura grinned.

"It does indeed." she said, grabbing the tablet and sliding it back into a pocket. "Alright, let's get out of here."

"What, don't feel like moving in? Making this your summer home?" he said.

"You hungry?" she asked, changing the subject as they made their way back to the tunnel that had originally let them in. "There's a tiny truck stop diner about four miles from here. We can make quick work of that if we run."

"We can make quicker work of it if you let me run." he stated. Once they made it to the tunnel, she let out her claws, digging them into the slick wall of the tunnel and climbing out. Pietro took a deep breath, wiping the dust off the bottom of his shoes before speeding up after her.

"You're more than welcome to run ahead. Just tell them that Laura will have her usual, they'll know what to do from there." she said, turning away from the complex and walking away. She didn't look back at it.

"Just let me carry you." he said exasperatedly. He was, in fact, very hungry. And he didn't want to deal with her incessant bantering at this time.

"I'm heavier than I look." she said shortly.

"Then a piggyback!" he said, speeding to her and pulling her onto his back before she could protest. In her defense, she was _much_ heavier than she looked. It slowed Pietro down some, but not enough to warrant him putting her down. She didn't say anything, but he could feel her growl as she held on to him. She got her revenge by pulling his hair in order to direct him to the diner. In less than ten minutes, they were across the street from Al's Place.

Al's was small, as Laura said, but it was clean and warm and welcoming. There were two older ladies in aprons that gave them warm smiles when they walked in. A small family and two separate truck drivers filled three booths along the window.

"Laura!" one of the older ladies called as they walked in. Laura put on possibly the most genuine smile that Pietro had seen from her so far. She actually let the woman put her arms around her and pull her to a close embrace.

"How's it going, Frankie?" she asked softly. She seemed slightly uncomfortable by the contact, but allowed the older woman to rock her from side to side in her joy.

"Well it's been a minute since you've been here. Your dad was in here just a while ago, heading back south with a whole gaggle of kids. I was surprised when you weren't with him." she said, pulling her by the wrist to a booth in the corner. Pietro noticed it was just in sight of the exit, but not exactly noticeable at first glance.

"Yea I uh, had to move for work for a little while." she said vaguely, sitting down on the side of the booth facing the door. Pietro sat across from her, pulling the menu out from behind the condiment holder. There was a large list of burgers on the front, then sandwiches and desserts on the back.

"And who's your friend here?" she asked with the same tone of voice that grandparents often used when trying to subtly ask about significant others. He turned and gave her a smile, but decided against letting out any of the sarcastic answers that ran through his head.

"Just a friend from work, nothing to write home to Logan about." Laura said, giving Frankie a stern look. Frankie held her hands up in mock defense.

"Hey, you know your secrets are safe with me. You'll have your usual, then?" she asked. Laura nodded, and Frankie turned to Pietro. "And what'll you have, sweet thing?"

"Uh," he faltered for a moment, not used to strangers using terms of endearment with him. Laura grinned smugly at his discomfort. "Mushroom swiss, please. Three patties."

"Oh, and the friend has an accent!" Frankie remarked with a grin, raising her eyebrows at Laura. Laura dramatically rolled her eyes, and the older woman looked back at Pietro. "Fries and a shake, darlin'?"

"Um, yes please." he said quietly. He hadn't had this level of scrutiny since his initial visit to the Avengers complex.

"You got it. Hold tight, kids, it'll be right up." Frankie sauntered away.

"So you're on hug-basis around here." Pietro remarked.

"If you come here more than once, you're practically family." she said shortly, pulling out her phone. He tried a couple more times to make conversation, but he got more of the same - short answers and no eye contact. He finally resigned himself to silence, accepting this as another one of her moods. He didn't fault her for it. After all, after what he and Wanda had to deal with, after all that they had done, he understood how things can suddenly crash down. He had his own dark moments, darkness that crept into his heart and threatened to suffocate him. If Laura wanted to have a silent meal after spending some extended time in a Hydra base that she was obviously very familiar with, she was more than entitled to it.

The mountain of a burger that Frankie brought him was one of the most delicious things he'd ever had the pleasure of enjoying. He was glad to have taken the detour before heading back to the complex, even if he would probably have to explain his long absence to Captain Rogers.

After they finished their meal, Laura seemed to be in better spirits. She finally put her phone away - she'd had it in front of her for most of the time - and looked at him again. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, looking past him toward the door. She ducked her head down to hide.

"What is it?" Pietro asked, his heart rate spiking at her reaction. He went to turn around, but she grabbed his wrist roughly. His eyes snapped back to her, but she was looking across the diner at Frankie. Frankie somehow understood Laura's look, and Pietro could hear her behind him, directing the new patron to a booth the opposite direction from them.

"We have to go. Now." Laura said lowly. She pulled a fifty dollar bill out of her bag and dropped it on the table.

"What? Who's here? What's happening?" Pietro asked quickly.

"In a minute." she said. She slid out of the booth, keeping her head down. He assumed he was supposed to follow her.

"Laura?" a male voice called from across the diner.

"Keep going." Laura said lowly. They were almost to the door. Pietro heard footsteps behind them, as well as Frankie trying her best to distract whoever it was Laura was trying to avoid.

"Laura!" the man called again, catching up to them just as Laura pushed open the door. Laura stopped, the cold air rushing past them into the warmth of the diner. He turned to see a handsome blond man, his hand on Laura's shoulder. Laura was frozen. The man didn't look sinister, but who knows what kind of people she had come across in her life.

"A friend?" Pietro asked.

"No." she said lowly, which made the man's face fall. Pietro was immediately defensive. "This is Warren. My ex."

* * *

Ooohh, whatever will happen next?

Thank you to JackieOh and AltaStark for your wonderful reviews!

Please take a moment and let me know what y'all think of this new chapter! Thank you so much for reading.

-XM


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